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Soulmate <3: Hey, babe, I'll be getting off work in about a half hour, thanks again for watching Jamie for me. I love you, Danvers.
Alex rolled her eyes once she saw what her dorky girlfriend changed her contact name to before punching out a response quickly. She really wasn't going to let her live that down, was she? Ever since that night, Maggie had been so soft and gentle with her, kissing her softly, yet passionately. At first, she found it somewhat mortifying that her girlfriend had overheard that conversation she had with Maggie's little niece Jamie, but then she wasn't, and now it was sort of a running joke between the two of them, though the look in Maggie's eyes made Alex think that she had believed it. She was pulled from her thoughts as Maggie Sawyer 2.0, Winn had dubbed her, plopped down into her lap excitedly.
"Auntie Alex! Auntie Alex!" the girl bounced up and down, reminding Alex of her sister whenever she was in a donut shop, something was being shoved into her face and she let out a soft chuckle at the sight of her childhood puzzle in the eight-year-old's hands, tentatively, she took it and shifted to get comfortable, "What's this, Auntie Alex? It's so pretty! There's red and blue and green and yellow! And, orange. Why isn't there any purple, Auntie Alex?"
"Slow down there, sweetie." Alex laughed tapping her finger on the child's nose, eliciting a soft giggle, "You've never seen this before? Really?"
Jamie shook her head confusedly then she tilted her head and she almost laughed at how identical it was to her girlfriend's little puppy dog head tilt. The little girl's lips were pinched together in a little pout.
"This is a Rubik's cube, Jamie. My father got it for me when I was just your age," she sighed at the thought of her father, they still had no idea where he was, "It's a cool puzzle, see. You twist the faces to mix up the colors, the goal is to solve it so that all the colors match again."
Jamie's big doe eyes grew wide with amazement as Alex twisted the front face with her index finger, the bottom with her pinkie. Her hands clapped excitedly as Alex handed it back to her and she started twisting and turning the sides, her tongue poked out from the corner of her mouth. After a few minutes of waiting, Jamie handed her the cube with a grin.
"Now, what Auntie Alex?"
Alex smiled at the sheer curiosity and childish light in her voice, it was adorable, children were like sponges, they soaked up whatever you gave them. She was more than happy to explain the inner workings of this magnificent time killer. She started showing her how to solve the cube, telling her to solve one side first. Once the girl seemed to capture the idea, Jamie took the cube and tried solving it, but after five minutes she groaned and tossed it on the couch.
"I don't get it!" the child whined, her eyes grew wide and tears of frustration filled them. Alex smiled and wiped her cheeks, caressing her face softly.
"Oh, sweetie, it's okay, things like this takes time. It took me a month to figure it out. It's all about patience, that's what my dad told me," her voice was gentle and caring, and Jamie seemed to calm down, wiping her cheeks. Determination filled her eyes and she reached for the cube, holding it out to Alex. Her jaw was set, eyes concentrated on the task at hand.
"Teach me, Auntie Alex? Please? Please with cherries and whipped cream on top?"
Just like her aunt. Alex mused and took the cube back from her fingers.
"Alright, so the first step is to learn how the cube works," Alex explained, demonstrating the different turns before having Jamie mimic, it wasn't long before she learned most of the notations, left, right, up, down, front, and back. Jamie was a smart girl for her age, very bright with a lot of potential, "Now, I learned to solve the white side first. Do you like daisies, Jamie?"
"The white pretty flower?"
"Yeah."
Alex fought back a grin, there was a passion and seriousness in the little girl's brown orbs.
"I love daisies! Back home, Auntie Mags used to take me into the forest and we'd look for daisies!"
Just picturing her girlfriend running through the meadows with Jamie brought a smile on her face. She was not going to let Maggie live this down. Frolicking in the forest, searching for flowers? Priceless.
"Okay, so you make a little white daisy around the yellow center, like this." Alex moved the pieces around smoothly and slowly, until the edge pieces were correctly in place. She looked over, worried that Jamie was disinterested because she wasn't saying anything, but to her amazement, the girl seemed to be concentrating hard, her nose was scrunched up adorably.
"Auntie Alex, can you solve it?"
"Yeah, I can."
"Can you please?"
"I thought you wanted to learn, sweetie."
"Pleeeeeaseee?"
Damn that pout. Alex shook her head, having discovered her latest Kryptonite, and there was no immunity to it. Any of the Sawyer family pouts at her and she's a goner, heads over heels. She loved Jamie so much, the little girl was just so sweet and cute.
"Okay, okay, hold on."
Alex stared at the puzzle in her hands, examining the sides, deciphering which piece was to go where before her fingers moved in accordance with her mind. Front, back, right inverse, left. Up, down inverse, top, right. She had the white daisy, and soon she powered through the first layer, the second one, and the last one where she did a few twists and turns before it was completely solved. Her eyes were filled with wonder and Alex laughed as she handed her the cube. Maggie's niece starting mixing the pieces around again, hiding it from view.
"That was so cool!" Jamie was looking at her like just gave her a crate full of puppies and bunnies. Her eyes were filled with wonder and Alex laughed as she handed her the cube. Maggie's niece starting mixing the pieces around again, hiding it from view. "Hey, don't look yet! No cheating, Auntie Alex."
Alex chuckled and covered her eyes with her hands so the girl could mix the cube up again.
___
Maggie was having an off day today, there were no rogue aliens at large, no murderers on the loose, it was slow and it was agonizing. Can someone just rob a bank or something? Anything? Did it make her a bad person for wishing for a city crisis? No, right? Honestly, she just wanted to get home so she could cuddle up on the couch with her favorite girls. Her phone buzzed on her desk and she quickly made to check it, having literally nothing to do. Just thirty more minutes and she'd be back home.
Baby Girl: Hurry up and come home, we miss you! I love you back, soulmate. ;)
All negative thoughts about her day just vanished into thin air and there was a stupid, goofy grin on her face. Her partner teased her from his desk and she made sure to quickly flip him off when her captain turned his back. He continued sniggering at her and she was forced to stop glaring when he captain stopped at her desk, setting down a small stack of papers.
"When you're done with those, you're free to leave, Sawyer." he said with a faint smile as the woman quickly picked up a pen and started signing through all the papers with break neck speed.
By the time she was finished, she had twenty minutes of her shift left, which meant she did her paperwork in ten minutes. Maggie whistled lowly in appreciation before slamming the folder down messily on her captain's desk before grabbing her jacket, well, it was Alex's jacket, but she had jurisdiction over her girlfriend's closet, she'd like to think. Maggie was out the door in a flurry, excited to get home.
She was practically bouncing on the heels of her feet as she reached Alex's apartment door, rummaging in her pocket for her keys. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she was met with the sight of her girlfriend and niece sitting on the couch, laughing and giggling. Jamie was saying something to Alex that was making her shoulders shake with laughter. Maggie leaned against the wall for a few seconds, admiring the view, this could be her life. All she had to do was propose, snagging Alex from all who envied them. She made a mental note to call Kara to go ring shopping with her.
Maggie snuck up behind her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her neck, kissing her innocently on the side of her neck before pulling back with a grin. Alex handed something to Jamie who was laughing still so she could pull the detective to her, leading her around the couch so she could properly kiss her. Alex was smiling stupidly against Maggie's mouth, not that her girlfriend minded. The brunette broke the kiss and leaned their foreheads together for a few seconds before pulling away.
"Hey there, soulmate."
"Oh shut up."
Her smile faltered when she saw what Jamie was holding. Just like that, Maggie pushed away from her girlfriend, to Alex's confusion. As she advanced towards Maggie worriedly, but the brunette continued backing away in horror. It was like she saw a ghost, but Maggie was staring at Jamie, looking absolutely spooked.
"What is that doing here?!"
Jamie and Alex shared a look of confusion and Maggie continued backing up until her back hit the door.
"Auntie Mags?"
"Jamie, what is that?"
The little girl looked down at the cube in her hands and held it out to Maggie, "It's Auntie Alex's Rubik's cube, she let me borrow it. Auntie Alex is really, really, really good at it. Do you wanna try?"
"No! No, get that thing away from me!" Maggie screeched and Alex fought back a laugh at the look of horror on the detective's face, "It ruined my life, I spent two years of my life trying to solve it, hear that?! Two years, two years that I'm never going to get back!"
"Babe," Alex giggled, placing her hands on her girlfriend's waist, Maggie glared at her, but didn't move away, "Don't you think you're overreacting a bit? It's a children's puzzle, not TNT."
"It's Satan's contraption, that's what it is. It lures you with those pretty colors and it destroys you!"
"Maggie, come on. It's not going to bite you," Alex insisted with a chuckle as she leads her girlfriend over to the couch where Jamie was still mixing it up, "See, if your niece can hold it, then you'll be fine."
The detective nestled into her side, resting her head on her girlfriend's shoulder lovingly. She flinched slightly in terror as her niece handed her girlfriend the cube of death. As Alex started to solve it, Maggie slapped the offending object from her hands shouting loudly.
"ALEX, BABE NOOOO!"
"Ow, Mags, what the heck?"
Jamie was giggling as the redhead shook her hand in annoyance before picking up the cube again. Maggie backed up again as Alex started twisting and turning the sides. To her amazement, the redhead had it solved in under two minutes. The eight-year-old clapped her hands again happily.
"See, Auntie Alex can do it!"
"She sure can." Maggie smiled encouragingly at her niece, but was glaring daggers at the inanimate object. Alex is certain that she's never seen Maggie look so angry and scornful, nor has she experience anything quite like this before. Her girlfriend was just something else in her entirety.
"Are you sure you don't wanna try, Auntie Mags?"
Maggie's eyes widened comically and Alex really wished she had her camera because this was just priceless. Big bad Maggie Sawyer scared of a children's puzzle.
"Well, you see I can't because I'm...color blind."
"No, you aren't, babe." Alex insisted and handed her the cube. Maggie looked down at it like it was a piece of shit that her girlfriend just randomly gave her, "Try it, come on, for me? One side?"
Don't look, Sawyer. Don't you dare—dammit! Her eyes flitted up briefly and she saw the biggest, brown eyes staring back at her. Alex had her head tilted, lips drawn up adorably into this deadly pout that could kiss. Fuck, next time they should just have Alex pout at CADMUS before resorting to something else because she's sure no one, not even Lillian Luthor could resist this.
"Fine, for you, yeah." Maggie was surprisingly pleased as Alex leaned forward to kiss her softly before pulling back to smirk at the dazed expression on the detective's face. Maggie looked down at the puzzle, her eyebrows knit with concentration as she started to twist and turn the sides.
"Come on, Sawyer," she chided herself unknowingly, "You've taken down giant purple aliens, hunted down murderers, and managed to date Alex Danvers, you can do this."
Jamie and Alex shared an amused look with one another before turning back to the detective. Maggie's face was so intense right now as she worked to solve the first side. Alex thought she wasn't bad, in fact, she almost got the daisy. After a good twenty minutes, the two grew bored, but Maggie was all for it, her eyes stayed glued to the cube in her hands.
"Mags?"
"Mmm."
"We're going to go get some snacks in the kitchen."
"Yeah, sure."
Alex was sifting through her pantry, handing Jamie snacks to put in bowls, when she felt a soft tug on her sleeve. Jamie was staring at her with wide, concern filled eyes and quickly she turned to her, expecting something urgent.
"Is Auntie Mags, okay?"
Alex stared at her in confusion. Of course, Maggie was okay why—
"She's saying bad things to the Rubik's cube."
The redhead told Jamie to stay in the kitchen while she went to check on her girlfriend, and indeed, she was swearing angrily at the puzzle in her hands. Maggie's eyes were filled with rage and hatred as she pointed at the thing.
"Alright, listen you little fucker. I am going to solve you, there are only two more damned pieces. Hear me?Two. That's closer than I've ever gotten, and you're not going to just rip that away from me, you piece of shit. I am a detective, I detect, and I detect that you don't want me to solve you, but guess what?! Too fucking bad, because—" Maggie's angry words were cut off as Alex lightly touched her shoulder. She could see her shoulders shaking and Maggie was worried for a few seconds, then she saw the smile on her face and realized that Alex was laughing at her.
"You're making fun of me!" she accused heatedly, her eyes were offended and angry.
"I—I'm n—not." Alex said in between stifled giggles, she grabbed Maggie by the shoulders, "Babe, I'm—I'm not. Look, I just came to check on you, Jamie said you were saying bad words, but you're fine so just...continue."
The detective's eyes narrowed as a laugh escaped Alex's lips and she followed the redhead with them until she vanished into the kitchen again.
"I. Will. Solve. You."
___
By the time Alex and Jamie came back from the kitchen, Maggie was sitting cross legged on the couch, with only one more piece left to solve. Her jaw was set in determination, hair slightly disheveled from running her hands through it in frustration so much. It was adorably hilarious. And the detective was so far gone, that she would just agree to anything. They had fun testing that hypothesis.
"Auntie Mags, are you okay?"
"Mhmm, yeah."
"Hey, babe, I'm going to burn down all your bonsai trees."
"Yes, yeah."
"Auntie Mags, can Auntie Alex use your credit card to buy a pony?"
"Mhmm..."
"Mags, we're going to move to Antartica to go live with the polar bears."
"Okay."
"Auntie Mags, I'm going to jump out of the window now."
"Uh huh, go ahead, kid."
"Maggie, I'm in love with Winn."
"Yeah, that's great—wait, what?"
At that, the brunette finally snapped out of her trance and stared at her girlfriend with wide eyes. Alex and Jamie were cracking up and she glared at them, finally taking in everything they said.
"No, Alex, you cannot burn all my babies and we are not going to live with the polar bears, and Jamie, we've talked about the pony already and jumping out of the window is unsafe, you shouldn't do it," she said quickly before looking back down at the cube.
___
Alex and Jamie had finally given up on getting Maggie to pay attention to them, so the redhead used her sister's Netflix password and put on a movie. She instinctively curled into the detective who stayed still, but she moved a bit closer so Alex could rest her head on her shoulder, as she always did. Jamie was leaning against Alex's side, engrossed in the movie. They both ignored Maggie's grumbling as she tried to figure out how to solve the first side.
"YES! HAHAHA! TAKE THAT YOU STUPID HEXAHDRON! FIRST LAYER DONE!"
The two others on the couch jolted awake at the outburst and blinked sleepily at the detective who was doing a victory dance around the couch. Alex chuckled tiredly and stroked her fingers through Jamie's hair as her girlfriend continued to dance ridiculously, adorably and proceeded to throw the cube on the table. Maggie was in the middle of doing her own version of the washing machine when Alex picked up the cube and frowned.
"Babe?"
"Yeeees?"
"You, uh—" Alex wasn't sure how to tell her that she didn't solve the first layer and literally just solved the white side. Maggie had calmed down and plopped onto the couch, her head tilted in confusion as the redhead grabbed her cheeks.
"What?"
"Well...you solved one side."
"Yeah?"
"But, you didn't solve the first layer, babe. It's...wrong."
"What."
___
"Maggie said there was an emergency, why are you giving this to me?" Kara's eyebrows were raised in confusion as her sister placed a multicolored cube in her hands. She held it to the light and examined it."Where's the thing that devours children's dreams, crushes their hope?"
"You're uh, holding it."
"Alex."
"Hmm?"
"This is a Rubix cube."
"I'm aware, Kara please just take it."
"But I don't understa—"
"ALEXANDRA DANVERS, I AM NOT SLEEPING WITH YOU UNTIL YOU GET RID OF THAT THING!"
"Okay, babe! Almost gone!"
"But, you said there's a—"
"DEMON BE GONE!"
Kara was staring at her with confusion and slight annoyance.
"Alex, what the hell?"
"Um."